Archive for the ‘Shopping’ Category

Too bad Mrs. Evanchik’s rag didn’t pick up the story. I betcha Krugman could have had some fun with it. But he’s very serious nowadays. He’s probably grumpy because he still has to work for a living. A mediocre prognosticator, he has excellent hindsight.

I want a Nokia N800 Internet tablet, because it fits in my pocket, and so that I can conveniently surf the web anywhere in the house, or when I go out and there is a Wifi connection nearby. I prefer the Nokia N800 to the new Ipod Touch because the Nokia is more configurable, extensible, and has a better screen. Also, it can run Flash and Java, which is important to me. All these points were well explained in a comparative review posted on another blog.

I want a 15″ Macbook Pro, because I am typing this on my wife’s Macbook, away from my desk and on the bed, and it is a darned nice computer.

I want a One Laptop per Child (OLPC) notebook computer, because it’s small (luggably small, but not pocketable) and durable and can have it’s power hand-generated. I couldn’t give two farts for the poor kids it is meant to benefit, but I’m considering getting a couple for my kids too, because the thing looks like it can take a beating. OLPC will be selling them to the general public to finance giving them to the poor, and I’m going to be sorely tempted to pick up a few, even doing so incidentally helps the wretched.

For clarity’s sake, this blog posting is most emphatically not a lobbying attempt to persuade my wife what to get me for my birthday (October 15th, mark your calendars!), because however much I love toys, I love saving money more. Spending money, particularly money I don’t have, on expenses that can be avoided, causes me actual physical pain.

So the Macbook is definitely out, but perhaps the Nokia Internet tablet and the OLPC are doable. I’ll just cut down on the takeout meals for a few months.

Monica Evanchik has meandered into the mellifluos world of blanc de blanc champagnes in her latest presentation of a New York Times wine tasting. I have rarely heard the reviewers so enthusiastic about their selections.